Cheers to Health and WellnessJanuary Letter from the Editor

How will you do better this year? Are you planning to quit smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol? Will you exercise more and eat less? January gives us hope of a new beginning; it marks our chance to wipe the slate clean and move forward. For anyone who wants to improve their overall health and wellness this year, there is good news for you—cannabis can help.

With all the miraculous benefits that cannabis provides, we’ve decided to dedicate this issue of CULTURE to cannabis, health and wellness. Our exclusive interview with former NFL offensive lineman, Eben Britton, helps us examine how our nation’s history of prescribing opioids for pain is outdated and harmful.

Cannabis is defined under two categories—medical or recreational. While we appreciate these two approaches, cannabis can be put in one, all-encompassing category as the plant contributes in countless ways to a healthier, more wellness-minded lifestyle.

There is no denying the medicinal properties of cannabis. It’s an effective anti-seizure medication for people suffering from epilepsy and seizure disorders. Chances are you know a fair amount of people who have used cannabis adjunctively to help combat negative side effects alongside chemotherapy. Cannabis continues to grow in popularity as an alternative medicine—your friends and family members have probably already inquired about CBD for treating pain, skin disorders or inflammation—for themselves and even for their pets. And these examples only touch the surface regarding the many examples of how cannabis is one of nature’s most effective medicines.

However, a wellness-minded lifestyle goes beyond medicine and treating physical ailments. Cannabis promotes, supports and contributes to many dimensions of a healthier lifestyle. Even non-psychoactive cannabinoids seem to make mundane tasks all the more bearable, from tedious chores to exercise. With cannabis, jokes become funnier, connecting with nature is effortless, and consumers experience a way to examine parts of their lives and the world around them in a much different way than before. Through research, we’re finally witnessing proof of what many of us have known for much of our lives—cannabis is beneficial mentally, spiritually, socially and emotionally.

When people are looking for a way to escape, a way to shift their mindset toward something more positive, cannabis is quick to do the trick. When alcohol, opioids and cigarettes pose such dire threats to our well-being, cannabis is a plant that nourishes our bodies and interacts with our endocannabinoid system, which maintains balance in most of our body’s functions and systems.

This issue of CULTURE will give you more insight into living a better life with cannabis. We’ll share with you the origins of modern medical cannabis dispensaries as well as how new research will continue to break down boundaries toward healing for patients with HIV. Additionally, you’ll find out how to incorporate one of nature’s most nutritious super foods, hemp, into recipes that will coincide with your New Year’s resolutions, plus so much more. Here’s to a year brimming with wellness, health and growth.